


Through this Infinite Darkness

by DeathByStorm



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Mission Fic, My last fic for Voltron, Original Character(s), Set between Season 2 and 3, Shiro never died, WIPbang post, huddle for warmth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-11-02 01:30:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20576339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathByStorm/pseuds/DeathByStorm
Summary: In the aftermath of a mission gone wrong, Shiro and Lance are captured by a Galra commander determined to extract information about the coalition by any means necessary. While they do their best to plot an escape, Allura and the others desperately try to track down their missing friends.I do not give my consent for this fic to be posted on Fanfic Pocket Archive Library (Unofficial) or any other similar apps.





	Through this Infinite Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time ever completing a Bang! I worked super hard on it and I hope you all enjoy it. 
> 
> Beta'd by the lovely [Eilera](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eilera/pseuds/Eilera)
> 
> All remaining mistakes are my own.

The ship’s klaxons startled Lance from a dead sleep.

“It’s too damn early,” Lance muttered as he rolled out of bed. “Wasn’t this supposed to be our day off? What’s a guy got to do to get some beauty sleep around here?”

He practically threw his armour on and was still slapping the vambraces in place as he exited his room. It’d been what? Sixty seconds? Lance ran for the bridge. His muscles complained as he did so and brought back the memory of the workout that Shiro had put him through last night. He smiled a little. He was getting better or so Shiro assured him.

The door to the bridge whizzed open as he approached, and he skidded into position between Hunk and Keith.

“Excellent work, Lance,” Coran said. “Sixty ticks, a new record.”

He waved the ticker like it was some kind of trophy.

“Of course, it is. I’m awesome,” Lance flexed his arm.

“Good job, Lance,” Shiro said. He gave him a friendly smile, and was it suddenly hot in here?

“Than- Thank you, Shiro,” he said. He could feel his ears going red and was immediately glad that his helmet covered them.

“I’m still faster than you though,” Keith said.

“Not everyone sleeps in their clothes, Keith,” Lance snapped. “Some of us prefer to sleep in you know actual pajamas.”

“That just leaves us waiting on Pidge,” Allura spoke right over both of them.

Pidge stumbled in at just that moment and leaned on her knees gasping for air. “Sorry I’m late.”

“One dobosh and ten ticks. Not too shabby, Number 5,” Coran stroked his mustache.

“What’s going on anyways?” Pidge asked. “Wasn’t this supposed to be our day off?”

“Yeah! We were supposed to go to a beach planet,” Lance said. He caught Allura’s expression and sighed. “It’s been called off, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, unfortunately something else came up,” Allura said. “The Illians, old Altean allies, have reached out to us with a request to establish diplomatic ties once more. Due to the general movement of Galra forces over the last few weeks, I believe that we will have to secure that alliance as soon as possible. As such, I have moved a couple of missions ahead.”

“Lance,” Allura said. “You and I will be going there to speak to their leaders. I need you to really focus on your diplomatic skills today. The Illians are pacifists; a show of force will not help us here. We will take the blue lion, but it is imperative that we go weaponless as a show of trust and honour. I’m counting on you to help show them that we want peace for the universe and that the Voltron Coalition can help bring that.”

“I won’t let you down, Allura.”

Shiro came up and clapped him on the shoulder, which sent a wave of heat through him. “Lance, I know you’ll do great.”

And that was too much for Lance’s poor heart which began to beat triple time.

“Thanks, Shiro.”

“The Ta’asal of Regali 6 have requested Voltron’s help for setting up the defences for one of the refugee colonies. Since we’re closest to them, Pidge and Hunk, we’ll be sending you two to help converse with the colony’s leaders and suggest how best to set up and configure the defenses against the Galra.”

“Shiro, you and Keith will be heading out to Dreoma. There are rumours of some Galra activity in the area. We want you to investigate,” Allura said.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shiro walk over to Keith and clap his hand on his shoulder. He quickly turned his attention back to the mission at hand.

“You all have your assignments. Let’s move out.” Shiro said.

The rest of the Paladins headed to their lions.

“Oh and Lance? I have something for you,” Allura pulled something out of her pocket.

“Finally falling for me, Princess?” he gave his best sultry wink before he could stop himself. “Because I’ve fallen for you.”

“I’m pretty sure that it’s Shiro you’ve fallen for.”

“Wha- How?” Lance stuttered.

She took advantage of his stuttering to hand him what looked like a small button. “That is a tracker,” she said. “I’ve already put mine on. They go behind the ear. It’s just a safety precaution because we’re going in unarmed. I have to make some last-minute preparations myself. I’ll meet you in front of Blue in five doboshes.”

With that, she left him there without so much as a backward glance.

“Am I that obvious?”

“I’m sorry to say that you are, my boy," Coran said He gave his mustache a twist as he added, "If you need any help in the romance area I'll have you know that I was one of the top romancers of my time."

“Thanks Coran," Lance said. "No problem, my boy!" Well that was just great. Did Shiro know? Lance's blood turned to ice at the thought. He really hoped not. While Shiro would never be anything but kind wheb rejecting him, he'd also never live it down.

*

“We are beyond grateful to have you here as our honoured guests,” Councillor Jaimon said.

They were in the hall outside of the grand council chamber where the talks would be taking place. Stone pillars arched overhead, giving a cathedral like quality that reminded Lance of the Castle of Lions. Jaimon matched the architecture almost flawlessly, being willowy and whip-thin with robes a few shades lighter than the stone walls around them.

Allura bowed her head to him and Lance hurriedly mimicked her gesture before she could nudge him.

“We are grateful to receive your hospitality.”

Illian smiled and gestured down the huge, overarching hall. “This way to where we will be hosting the talks. Tell me, Princess Allura, how is it that you and your paladins are planning took down Zarkon?”

“Well it was done with the work of the whole coalition,” Allura began. “And not just Voltron. The Olkari and the Balmerans were also instrumental in the operation.”

Jaimon listened intently as Allura told the story of how they had taken down Zarkon.

“From what you have told me here, your people are very involved in this war,” Jaimon said after she was finished. “Our people are pacifists as you must know, and have little to offer the Galra, should they choose to attack.”

Lance glanced around up into the alcoves above him and at their surroundings. It looked like at least one of the council members wasn’t in full agreement with contacting Voltron. He was suddenly very aware that they were in a hall alone with Councillor Jaimon. No one had passed by since they’d entered. They hadn’t even seen anyone besides this one representative when walking down to the council chambers from their landing site.

“Your planet is in a strategic position for the Galra. It is only a matter of time before they strike,” Allura said. “We are here to offer you a way out.”

“Of the fighting? More like into the fighting! Tell me princess, if we are such a strategic choice, why haven’t they gotten us before? Perhaps it would be safest for you to go home.”

Maybe because they hadn’t gotten to this sector before, Lance thought sarcastically. Out loud he said, “The Galra control eighty percent of the known universe at this time, but it’s still a vast place. We have intelligence saying that they are on their way here right now. Frankly, I’m surprised we beat them here.”

“This just seems unbelievable to me,” Councillor Jaimon curled one hand in a fist and waved it over his head. A motion of emphasis if Lance remembered Allura’s full briefing properly.

“Where is the rest of the council?” Allura asked. “I would like to speak to them.”

At that, the fight seemed to go out of Jaimon. “Right this way.”

He pushed open the doors behind him, and they opened into a bright, bustling hall.

“Ah Princess Allura and Paladin Lance!” You are most welcome!” It was another Illian who unlike the one that had led them to the hall was bedecked out in a robe that was silver, with accents of blue and purple. They pursed their lips up and smiled, revealing a set of large carnivorous teeth.

Again, Allura and Lance bowed. “We are honoured to have been invited for these talks between our people,” she said.

They bowed back with apparent delight. “It is both our honour and our pleasure. I am Chancellor Riork and I look forward to getting to know our new allies. Now come! I will show you to your seats.”

They were led to the front of the table and sat in two seats that were clearly pride of place in the hall.

"Negotiations are always best conducted over a nice meal,” Riork said.

“Thank you, Chancellor Riork,” Allura said.

Lance looked around the hall and noticed that everyone had begun chattering again. The clink of utensils against plates was familiar enough that it made something in Lance relax a bit.

“This is our other councillor, Councillor Aedack,” Riork said.

“It is an honour and a pleasure to meet you,” Aedack stood up from the table and gave them a formal bow.

When they bowed back, Aedack sat down and the noise in the hall picked up again.

“This is quite public for negotiations,” Allura said.

“We believe in a transparent government,” Jaimon spoke up. “The people around you are all civilians, who have been specially vetted for this occasion to ensure maximum security.”

It also left them completely vulnerable to attack. Lance glanced around and counted the exits again. He couldn’t help but feel like they were sitting ducks. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on anything but his nerves.

Lance noted idly that unlike humans the Ilians had six fingers. They operated their utensils with more dexterity and grace than a human. It was almost mesmerizing to watch them move and eat and he tore his gaze away so that he wouldn’t be caught staring. He twirled his fork, if one could call it that, into the noodles that had been provided. They squeaked, like frightened mice and he hastily set his utensil down.

“I admit that I am in disagreement with my fellow council members. I do not think we should join Voltron. We are a peaceful people and your coalition is very warlike,” Jaimon said.

The other two council members looked discomfited. “We agreed that we would contact Voltron, Jaimon,” Riorck said. His earlier joviality was nowhere to be found.

“There’s one resource you have that the empire would want,” Allura said.

“And what resource could they possibly want from us?” Jaimon asked. “We are not in a strategic position at all. There is very little danger of the Galra coming here.”

“Your quintessence,” Lance said.

“Our what?”

“Your lifeforce,” Lance set his fork down. He wasn’t going to eat more after his meal had basically spoken to him. “They use it to fuel their ships. We’ve seen them drain entire planets in minutes. You’re not safer if you choose to stay neutral. You’re in more danger.”

Allura laid hand on Lance’s arm and he fell silent.

“Princess Allura, do you typically allow your paladins to speak out of turn?” Aedack asked.

“What my paladin says is true, Councillor Aedack. The Galra have moved into your system. They drained one of your planets in this system just last week. They’re coming for you as well.”

Lance noticed that Allura had only had a few bites herself. 

"We know they’re coming,” Riorck pushed their plate away. “And we've come up with our own survival strategy.”

They snapped their fingers. Behind the council, two wall panels slid open revealing rows of sentries. At the front was a smirking Galra soldier. She caught Lance's gaze and her smile widened showing teeth that she had filed to points.

They both jumped to their feet. Lance reached down automatically for his bayard before remembering that it was back at the castle.

“What’s going on here. Why are you working with the Galra?”

“We’re sorry, princess. We really did reach out to you with the intent to secure an alliance.” To the very little credit that Lance could assign them, Riorck did look like tgey regretted what had happened. 

“If you think the Galra won’t subjugate you after all of this, Councillor, you’ve got another thing coming,” Allura snarled.

“Yes, but my people will survive,” they said. “And with any luck, we will get our own princess back.”

The last thing that Lance registered was a blow to his head before darkness overtook him.

*

“Your mother was a furry!” Lance shouted.

The Galra in question didn’t even acknowledge his angry declaration. She just seized Lance by the back of the collar and threw him into the cell. It was cold and dark and as crappy as the Galra that had thrown him in there.

She laughed as she closed the door. “I’ll enjoy conducting your interrogation, paladin.”

With that, the door slammed shut with a finality that rattled through Lance’s skull. Ugh his head was pounding something fierce. He staggered to his feet and shivered in the cold of the cell. He picked at his new clothes with an air of disgust. The rags they’d provided him in place of his armour were useless as well as ugly.

“Lance?” a raspy voice came from the corner of the room and warmed him to his very toes. “Lance! Are you okay?”

“Sh-Shiro?” Lance got to his feet and rushed over to him. Shiro was chained against the wall in a sitting position with his arms strapped together above him. His armour had clearly taken some heavy damage and there were whole chunks of it missing in places. He was missing his helmet which gave Lance a chance to look at the head wound that was still dripping blood into his eyes. “What happened to you? Are you okay? How were you captured?”

“It looks worse than it is,” Shiro was far too calm considering the situation that they had found themselves in. “They got away. Should be back at the castle by now.” 

Lance knelt beside him and used his sleeve to wipe some of the blood away so that he could take a closer look. True to his word, there was only a shallow cut staining his silver hair floof red. He glanced up at where his arms were strapped together. There was a device clamped around Shiro’s Galra arm which Lance assumed stopped him from activating it. Lance felt around the clamp, but of course there was no way to release it.

“Can you stand up?” Lance asked. “Shiro, that can’t be good for your shoulders.”

Shiro shot him a dry look. “I would if I could, Lance, but I'm chained to the floor too.”

It was only then that Lance caught sight of the lacerations that were spread all over Shiro’s body. The dim lighting of the room and the darkness of the blood must have thrown him off.

“Did they whip you?! Shiro…”

“It’s okay, Lance,” Shiro said. “I’ve had worse.”

“No, it’s not okay!” Lance said shrilly. The thought of what Shiro had gone through in the arena welled back up and he stamped it back down. Shiro would not appreciate his pity in that regard. “That makes it worse! I’m gonna get you out of those chains right now.”

“Lance, I don’t think –”

“Quiet and let me concentrate!” Lance snapped “It’s always worth trying.”

Shiro sighed and fell silent. Lance’s hands shook as he felt around Shiro’s ankles. Shiro shifted a little to allow him better access. Blood smeared on the ground as he did which sent a pang of guilt through Lance even though Shiro didn’t so much as make a pained sound.

Lance felt around Shiro’s ankles and then tugged at his chains to look at the locks. Just as he’d thought. There was nothing he could do to get them off. He slumped by the wall beside Shiro. There was really nothing that he could do. He couldn’t even patch Shiro’s wounds. They’d taken everything from him when he’d been captured up to and including his paltry amount of GAC, the thieves.

It was only then that he realized that Shiro was shivering. Lance frowned. Was he going into shock?

“Shiro, how long have you been tied up like that?” Lance asked.

“Oh, you know. Since about ten minutes before you got here. They were in the middle of interrogating me,” Shiro said. “I suppose you getting captured had something to do with that. How did that happen anyway? Do they have Blue?”

Lance shook his head. “I don’t think so. Or at least she isn’t on this ship.”

“Has Allura been captured?" 

“I don’t know. I came to almost as soon as they had dragged me onto the ship. I think these guys didn’t stick around to find out.”

“Smart,” Shiro grunted and shifted a little. “Which isn’t good for us.”

“Of course, we just had to be captured by the smart ones for once,” Lance muttered. “Did they get Keith?”

Shiro shook his head. “Keith escaped. But they have Black.” 

“Hopefully he will be able to get to the Castle of Lions and tell them what happened,” Lance’s breath puffed out as he spoke. The metal was like ice and he shifted away from it. Come to think of it, it was colder in here than it should be. He drew his knees up to his chest to help preserve his body heat.

Shiro shook his head. “It wasn’t just them. We were on our way to Dreoma when we were swarmed by a fleet. I don’t know how they knew we were there.”

“Yeah, they came for Allura and me the same way. It was like they were waiting for us. Though, in our case, they’d already been around neighbouring planets, so it wasn’t as surprising.” Lance shivered despite himself. “Is it cold in here, or is it just me?”

“Galra run hotter than humans, but I think that the heat may be broken in this cell. It’s not usually this cold.” 

“Well, I’m cold,” Lance mumbled. His face was starting to go numb.

“Come here and lean against me,” Shiro said with a sigh. “We can keep each other warm.”

Lance scooted over to where Shiro was. True to his word, the older paladin was shivering too. Gingerly, he leaned against Shiro’s side, hoping that Shiro couldn’t feel the rapid pounding of his heart. He was right, it was warmer. Lance could feel Shiro’s ribs expand as he breathed and found himself matching the rhythm. The feeling threatened to lull him into a state of calm. If this were any other time, he would have dozed off, but the cold and Shiro’s short, pained breaths kept him grounded in the frighteningly real situation that he found himself in.

“You doing okay, Shiro?”

“Just peachy.”

Lance’s fingers trembled, and he curled them in a fist to stop himself from reaching out to him. The laboured breathing was starting to drill into his head with a frightening intensity. Each trembling breath reminded him that Shiro was injured. That their situation was dire. Shiro was sitting on a dirty floor and while the wounds had mostly closed by now, they hadn’t had anything to clean them with. He knew that Shiro was aware of this as much as he was. The Galra could be back at any time to interrogate them.

“Did I ever tell you of the first time I surfed?” Lance said suddenly. 

“I didn’t know you surfed.” There was a knowing glint in Shiro’s eyes.

Lance smiled a little despite himself. “Yep. I won a few local competitions back in the day. I think one of the first things I’m gonna do when we get back to Earth is go to Varadero beach and surf. What do you want to do when you get back to Earth?”

Shiro hummed and the vibrations rattled through Lance’s side. “Eat a cheeseburger.”

“Why a cheeseburger?” Lance said to keep the conversation going.

“They’re my favourite. There’s nothing better than a good cheeseburger,” Shiro said. “You?”

“Hmm?”

“What’s the first thing you want to eat when you get back to Earth?”

“Garlic knots. There’s this stand near Varadero beach that has the best garlic knots. I used to go there almost every day.”

Lance's fingers were numb despite the fact that they were jammed under his armpits. The tips of his ears were starting to ache in the cold. It was a deep pain that he was unfamiliar with having grown up in Cuba followed by living in a desert in America, but he knew what it might mean.

“Shiro, we’re going to freeze if we stay like this. We have to properly share heat,” Lance said quietly.

“Lance,” Shiro said.

“What, don’t you want a piece of me?” Lance batted his eyes at him.

Shiro rolled his eyes but there was a small smile on his face which he counted as a success. “You’ll have to climb into my lap unfortunately. I can’t really do much in this position.”

Despite the fact that it was absolutely freezing, there was still enough heat in Lance’s body for him to blush. Huh. Well that backfired spectacularly. Lance swallowed hard. He got up and moved to swing his leg over Shiro’s lap. He eyed the cuts that criss-crossed Shiro’s chest. Some of them were still open and weeping into the cold air.

“This might hurt a little,” he warned.

“Do it,” Shiro said through gritted teeth. “You’re right. This is the best way.”

As gently as he possibly could, Lance straddled Shiro’s lap. Shiro didn’t so much as wince when Lance accidentally brushed one of his wounds. He smiled sadly. He’d always imagined doing something like this with Shiro under different circumstances. The fabric stuck to some of Shiro’s wounds. A couple of them immediately re-opened under his movements and began to bleed sluggishly.

“Sorry about that,” Lance said

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault,” Shiro replied even though it totally was.

Lance inched forward until he was directly in Shiro’s lap and plastered himself against Shiro’s chest. It was a bit of an awkward position, so he put his arms around Shiro’s neck for good measure and shifted impossibly closer. Shiro’s breath hitched, and then he relaxed though Lance remained tense.

It was awkward and uncomfortable and absolutely nothing like Lance’s daydreams of cuddling Shiro. But as he sat there, heat began to soak his front. It made his exposed parts seem even colder than before and he tried to shift even closer.

“Wish I could wrap my arms around you,” Shiro whispered in his ear. Lance’s next shiver had nothing to do with the cold. He couldn’t have meant that in the way that it sounded, right?

“S’okay,” Lance mumbled into the crook of his shoulder instead of voicing his thoughts out loud. “Wish I had something to wrap your cuts up with.”

“It’s alright,” Shiro whispered. Lance could feel his cold nose against his hair.

They fell silent and just breathed the cold and each other in.

The door clanged open.

“My, my. What do we have here? How … _romantic_.”

Lance looked up. It was the Galra from earlier with a twisted smile on her face. He clambered out of Shiro’s lap and stood in front of him. 

“This is because you keep this place freezing. Like your cold dead heart.”

“We don’t waste heat on prisoners,” she said. “Seize them both.”

The sentries waiting behind her surged forward and reached for Lance first. He dodged the first one’s grasping fingers and levelled a kick at its chest for good measure. It stumbled back and two more took its place.

“Lance, watch out!” Shiro shouted.

Something hard cracked against the back of his head and his vision blurred as he fell. At the sound of footsteps coming towards him, he opened his eyes and rolled over. There was a sudden, intense pressure on his side and something in his vision. Oh. Her foot was on his head. He grunted as she pushed down and ground her heel against his scalp as if to make a point.

“That wasn’t very smart, paladin.”

She got off Lance and the last thing that he saw was the barrel of a laser rifle followed by a flash of light.

*

Allura was running.

The grass surrounding her was high enough that no casual observer could see her. It waved and crumpled as she plunged her way through. Behind her, the Illians’ capital was burning. Blue was dead ahead and she could only hope that the lion would open up to her. She gritted her teeth and pressed on. She had to get out of here and go after Lance.

“Coran? Can you hear me?” she shouted.

“Loud and clear, Allura.”

She breathed out a sigh of relief. “The Galra have Lance. I need you to contact the others and send them to my location right away.”

“But what about you?”

She was out of the fields and took the next corner so sharply that she slipped a little as she ran. “I’m just about to reach Blue.”

“Allura, you don’t know how to-“

“I’ll figure it out, but you have to go now!”

“Yes, princess.”

Blue was waiting for her and leaned down and snatched her up as soon as she was in range much to her surprise. Allura had thought that she would have to convince the lion to take her. She slid into the seat and smiled grimly as the dashboard lit up. She leaned over and switched on the tracker that they’d planted on Lance earlier. A little red dot flashed on her screen and she tapped on it. The coordinates lit up on the screen and she laid in a course for a nearby star system.

“Coran, I’m sending you some coordinates. Send them to everyone else and get Shiro back to the castle pronto,” she said. She wrapped her hands around the joysticks. “Let’s get him, Blue.”

There was a roar of approval from the lion that echoed the anger in her own heart, and they launched immediately. It was nothing like flying the castleship, but with Blue's help they got airborn soon enough. There was likely a fleet waiting for them above, so they skimmed through the atmosphere before finally escaping into space proper through the south pole. She was gone from the planet before the Galra even had a chance to pinpoint her direction.

“Allura, we have a problem,” Coran said. “Keith’s back and he says that they were attacked and Shiro’s been captured! What’s more, Pidge and Hunk said that they were also attacked, but managed to escape.”

Her blood went cold. The attacks were too well coordinated. This could only mean one of two things: there was a rat in the coalition, or their security system had been compromised.

“Coran, are you able to teleport the castle to my location?”

“I’m afraid not. There simply isn’t enough of your residual energy left.”

Allura took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m coming to you.”

“Lance,” Pidge popped up on her screen. “Hunk and I are – Allura? Where’s Lance?”

“Captured,” she said crisply. “Blue was gracious enough to let me fly her for the moment.”

“Ah yes, I didn’t have a chance to tell them yet.”

“I’m coming too,” Keith’s voice came over the comms. “We have to get them back.”

“Lance and I were attacked by the Galra,” she said. “Since Shiro and Keith were attacked as well, this is clearly a sting operation that has been carried out by the Galra for the purpose of capturing Voltron. But it’s not their usual style.”

“Not only that,” Pidge said slowly. “Who else besides us could have known where we would all be today? Either the Blade of Marmora is compromised –”

“Or the Galra have bugged the castle,” Hunk said, popping up on Allura’s screen now.

“That’s impossible,” Pidge said. “I’ve got scanners that run a sweep of the castle’s systems every hour. If there was something there, we’d know.”

“If they had a worm able get in and out in that time frame though….” Hunk said.

Pidge paled, “I might’ve doomed us all.”

“There’s no time for that now. Our top priority must be getting Shiro and Lance away from the Galra,” Allura said. “We need a plan.”

“We don’t know what we’re facing, right?” Pidge adjusted her glasses and they glinted due to the light thrown off by her control panel. “The smartest thing would be to do some reconnaissance first. I’ll go in stealth mode with Green to see exactly what we’re up against.

“Oh! And we can hide in the nearby Eaol system,” Hunk said.

Allura nodded. “I suppose that makes the most sense for the moment. How far out are you from Lance’s current location?”

“Hmm, about three doboshes?” Pidge said. “It shouldn’t take long at all.”

“Alright, see you there shortly,” she said.

She leaned back in her chair and sighed.

“We’ll get them back, Allura.” Keith’s face was set into a rictus of determination. “We have to.”

“We will, Keith.”

*

Lance groaned. Where was he?

“Wakey wakey, paladin.”

Something slammed into his face hard, and his eyes flew open as his head snapped to the side. Fuck that hurt! The same Galra from earlier was standing by him with her hand raised. Lance winced and rotated his jaw to try to relieve some of the pain. She really packed a wallop.

“We haven’t been formally introduced yet. I’m Ventra,” she said.

“Lance.” 

Wait, Shiro! There was a dull roar in his ears as the sound of his panic overwhelmed everything else. Where was Shiro? He quickly scanned the room. Directly across from him, Shiro was standing with his hands bound behind his back. They were attached to a heavy chain connected to a mechanism on the wall.

Lance squinted at the narrow track that ran from the floor to the ceiling. The contraption was clearly designed to haul the unfortunate victim up high and hang them there. It was well taken care of despite its obvious age and clearly some kind of torture device. There was a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach and when Shiro met his eyes, it got impossibly colder.

“No! Stop! I’ll tell you everything you need to know,” Lance said.

He didn’t need to tell the truth, did he? Just something that she believed enough to- what? He knew that she wouldn’t let them go. All he could do was hold out.

Ventra grabbed Lance by his hair and dragged his head up. She regarded him for a moment. “I don’t believe you.”

The chains rattled as Shiro struggled against them, but Ventra didn’t take her eyes off Lance.

“Most Galra prefer not to resort to such crude methods, but I find that the classics are more effective in exploiting the weaknesses of people like you,” she said. “You care for him, don’t you?”

“Of course, I do,” Lance said. There was no point in denying at least that much. “He’s my friend.”

“Hmm, see? That was a half truth.” She leaned forward and whispered, “I can see the lie in your eyes.”

“I'm not–”

“Start the machine.”

“It’s the truth!” Lance cried out.

“Then you’re even weaker than I imagined,” she said. 

The sentry by where Shiro was bound pushed the lever on the wall. The ancient machine groaned as it started up. The chains behind Shiro rattled as they were slowly hauled off of the floor. Lance couldn’t bear to watch. He couldn’t bear to look away either. Shiro didn’t deserve to go through it alone.

“Lance, no matter what happens. You can’t tell them anything,” Shiro said. His voice was steady despite the situation that had begun to play out. “The fate of the universe is more important than my safety. It’ll be okay.”

Ventra forcefully turned Lance’s head back to face her. She let go of Lance’s hair and slid her hand to the back of his head in a mockery of a caress.

“Let me break down what is going to happen to him. We’re going to haul him in the air. You’ll notice that we’ve taken the time to tie his hands behind his back. While we do this, his own body weight will put stress on his twisted shoulders. It may dislocate them, or it may not. I find it depends on the durability of the species. You two are Galranoid, so I hope that means that you don’t break easily. It’s less fun that way.”

Lance swallowed.

“Then, you’ll get one chance to tell me where Voltron is and what the coalition’s plans are. Your leader will also get the chance to confess too for a sense of fairness. If you don’t, that’s where the real fun begins,” she said. The sick excitement in her voice made Lance’s stomach churn. “We’ll start with small drops and gradually move to larger ones. If that still doesn’t convince you. We’ll set him aside for the moment and you’ll have your own turn being hauled up and dropped until your arms are dislocated.”

“And if we don’t talk?” Lance asked.

“I have plenty of toys in my collection gathered from different species around the universe. We’ll just have to keep trying,” she said. “And you _will_ talk. It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when.”

“I’m sorry, Shiro,” Lance said quietly as the chain pulled Shiro’s arms upwards.

“It’s okay, Lance,” Shiro said. His voice was tight. “We’ve just gotta keep it together. Okay?”

Lance nodded and went to wipe away the tears that had begun to gather at the corner of his eyes. A large purple hand crept out of the corner of his vision and cupped around his jaw. And man wasn’t she fond of that move? It tightened painfully, and his head was forced up so he could see where Shiro was still rising. He’d looked away without meaning to.

“No,” she said. “I want you to watch every single, agonized moment that your silence causes your friend. Remember, you can stop this at any time. You just need to give the word.”

“I won’t,” he whispered.

She shook her head in mock regret. “They always say that.”

The creaking stopped with Shiro suspended about thirty feet in the air. The position forced his body forward, so he was almost facing the ground. Lance could see the beads of sweat trickling down Shiro’s forehead from the strain.

“Last chance, paladin.”

Lance looked at her and then looked up at where Shiro was hanging. He took a deep breath and stared directly into Ventra’s eyes.

“No.”

“Give him a level one drop.”

There was a creak, a rustle of chain, and Shiro was falling.

*

As the Castle of Lions came into view, Allura buzzed Coran again.

“Alright, I’m here,” she said. “I’m not certain how to get Blue into her hangar.”

Keith popped up on her screen. “Just drive towards the bottom left part of the ship. She knows what to do.”

They swooped down to where Keith had indicated and there was a brush of an alien consciousness at the back of her mind. It was so unlike operating the castle, which felt very much like a machine. Was this what the paladins, what her father had felt having been bonded to the lions?

Blue purred at the back of her mind, and she suddenly understood just how deep that connection ran. They flew into the hangar together and alighted as daintily as a feather. She unbuckled her seatbelt and as she did, Blue’s presence withdrew completely from her mind leaving her feeling like her mind was too big a place for just her. Blue obligingly lowered her head for her and let her out.

She reached up and touched Blue’s nose. “Thank you for the privilege of allowing me to pilot you.”

The lion rumbled softly.

“Allura? We have a problem.” Coran’s voice came through the speaker. “We seem to have lost Lance’s signal.”

“Quiznak!” she said and headed to the bridge.

She burst through the doors all at once. “Are you absolutely certain?”

“Yes, princess,” Coran said.

Keith punched his console. “There must be something we can do! I can’t let Shiro go again. Not like this.”

“We need a plan,” Allura said.

“How can we even form a plan?” Keith said. “We don’t know who’s in charge of the Galra empire right now. We don’t know where they’re located. I won’t lose him again.”

“Incoming message,” Coran’s voice shook a little. “Shall I put it up on the screen?”

“Yes please, Coran.”

“Hey so did anyone else notice that Lance’s signal is gone?” Hunk said. “That’s not just me, right?”

Allura shook her head.

“So, what are we going to do then?” Hunk said.

Allura took a deep shuddering breath. If only they had gone to that beach today instead of off on various missions. Then this might not have happened.

“For the moment, we’ll come pick you up. Then we’ll try to figure out a plan from there,” she said.

“Aren’t you connected to all of the lions? It was because of you we could track them all down in the first place” Keith said. He raised his head from his hands. “You even flew Blue today.”

Allura shook her head. “That bond is only active when a lion does not have a paladin. I can’t tell you where Shiro is. But the fact that I don’t know where Black is means that he’s alive at least.”

Keith relaxed a tiny hair. “And Lance too right? Even though you flew Blue?”

“Yes. That was done with special permission from Blue herself,” Allura said. “Lance is, to the best of my knowledge still alive. Hopefully they’ll stay that way until we can reach them.”

*

Lance couldn’t help it. He looked away as the chains holding Shiro pulled up tight and he was hauled up again. Tears pricked the corners of Lance’s eyes. He had to fight back the urge to blurt out what Ventra wanted to hear. The universe was counting on them. As much as it hurt to see this happen to Shiro, someone he cared for quite a bit more than he should considering that he was his superior officer, he couldn’t say anything.

“Not yet?”

Lance shook his head.

“Drop him from a higher height this time. Make sure it’s high enough to break something this time.”

He met Shiro’s gaze as they hauled him higher. He gave him a brief, reassuring smile despite everything which had Lance wanting to scream at him. Shiro was the one who was hurting. He shouldn’t be wasting his energy trying to comfort him. Shiro closed his eyes and took several deep breaths in an attempt to ease the strain on his body. The sentry flipped the switch.

“Aaargh!” Shiro let out a shout that rose into a whine as the rope jerked his wrists up. His shoulders were twisted and there was a cracking sound over the rattle of the chains. Shiro’s chest heaved. He whined under his breath constantly on each exhale as the broken shoulder was strained by his own bodyweight. His shoulders were both distended at unnatural angles. Lance’s heart clenched, and he felt like whimpering right along with Shiro. He wasn’t even sure that Shiro was aware that he was making any noise.

“Well?” Ventra said.

Her hands dug into his hair again and forced Lance to turn towards her.

“Uh-“

“Wait a minute, what’s this?”

Lance closed his eyes. She’d found it.

“Is this the source of your defiance, paladin?” She examined it closely. “A bug!”

She dropped it on the ground and crushed it beneath her heel before whirling on the guard. “Who was responsible for searching this prisoner?”

“It was Lug, Ma’am,” the Galra controlling Shiro’s chains said.

“Let him down and take them back to the cells. Don’t treat him just yet,” she said. “And have Lug thrown in a separate cell from these two. I’ll deal with him after we’ve moved positions. I’ll have that confession without any interference from anyone else.”

Oh, thank God. Lance wasn’t sure how much more he could watch Shiro suffer like that. Like, he knew what the stakes were. This was just a momentary calm before the storm of pain that awaited them both. It was a silver lining. He hoped beyond hope that the castle would have picked up his signal.

The Galra lowered Shiro to the ground and quickly untied him. They were dragged back to their cell and thrown unceremoniously on the ground. Shiro moaned when he hit the ground broken shoulder first and lay there in a crumpled heap.

Lance was thrown in beside him. He shuffled on his hands and knees until he reached Shiro.

“I’m going to move you into a more comfortable position, okay?” Lance said.

“My shoulders,” Shiro said faintly.

He shifted to his knees with a groan.

“Shiro! Take it easy,” Lance reached out and after a second put his hand on his back to help support him. “What can I do to help?”

“I’ll need to lie down on my back.”

Lance shifted completely behind Shiro and guided him down, allowing him to put some of his weight on Lance’s forearms as he did so.

Lance took a moment to quickly survey Shiro's body. His face was relaxed, or at least Shiro was trying to hide how much pain he was in, but Lance could still see it in his eyes and hear it in his ragged gasping. The remains of the undersuit that Shiro was wearing covered up the bruising, but Lance could bet that he was bleeding again.

Shiro's shoulders were a different story.

“They’re dislocated,” Shiro's voice was thready with pain.

“Shiro, I-I’m not sure how.”

Lance’s heart cracked when Shiro gave him a soft reassuring smile.

“It’s okay. I'll walk you through it.”

He took a few breaths clearly building himself up for what was to come next.

“First, you need to stretch it out to the side like if I were T-posing.”

Lance reached forward and grabbed his arm as gently as he could. Shiro gritted his teeth as Lance slowly began to shift the arm forward. His face was pale and streaked with sweat.

“Okay now shift my elbow up at a 90-degree angle and just move up – urgh!” Shiro cut himself off with a groan of pain as the ball of the joint slid home with a thunk that sounded far too heavy for what it was. Shiro sat up and before Lance could stop him, reached back with an air of practiced ease and set his other arm too.

Shiro let out another groan of pain as it slotted into place. He curled into himself instinctively, taking huge gasping breaths. And yeah, that’d do it when you just forced a bunch of damaged muscles and ligaments to bend in an odd direction to set a dislocated shoulder.

“Shiro!” I could’ve-”

“It’s okay Lance.”

“How is that okay?!” Lance’s voice rose up into a little bit of a scream. “You could have at least let me set it for you, Shiro! That would’ve hurt way more than letting me help you.”

Shiro rolled his shoulders with a grimace. “It really is fine. I think I used to set my shoulders all of the time in the ring.”

“Shiro… you know it’s okay to lean on us, right?” Lance said. “Especially … please next time just let me help you, okay?”

“Lance…”

“I’m serious!”

Shiro managed a smile, but he was pale and sweating, not surprising considering what he’d just been through. If they hadn’t been planning on taking him next, Lance would have said something to piss off that Galra, what was her name? Ventra, so that he could take his place. He looked down at his arms which were thinner, but his whole body was thinner than Shiro’s. Maybe he’d last longer? Would he even want to? How were they going to get out of this situation?

“Okay.”

“All hands prepare for hyper jump,” a voice boomed over the speakers.

The whine of the engines powering up were loud enough that they could hear them from their cell. 

Lance walked around the cell again looking for escape options. Nothing jumped out at him. There was a single cot in the corner of this cell, but that was the only difference between their new digs and their old ones.

Lance bit his lip as he thought over their situation. If he was to think tactically, the best way to get out if this type of situation was to befriend the guard. There was no real window on the cell. Just a tiny thing with bars that was barely large enough for Lance to peek through. It was a bit high for him as well. But then again Galra were pretty large compared to humans

They were probably being watched on a camera or something which was just a gross invasion of privacy. Not that Lance thought that the Galra cared much about that considering their disinterest in heating their cell. Or keeping their prisoners in one piece.

“You’re pacing.”

“Helps me think,” Lance said.

The clanking sound of a sentry approaching echoed through the hallway. An idea occurred to him.

All Lance had to do was sneak out of the cell, grab a sentry rifle, pew pew pew and bam! The Galra are space goo on the floor, Lance saves the day and maybe Shiro will smile at him in that soft way Lance liked so much.

Easy peasy.

“Hey! Hey you!”

The sentry robot paused.

“What are you doing?” Shiro asked.

“Be quiet,” Lance hissed. “You! Sentry bot.”

The robot paused and looked at him as if to say: yes?

“My friend is sick. He could die if he doesn’t get treatment soon.”

The sentry looked at him hard for a moment, its soulless gaze burning right through him as if searching for the lie in his eyes. Lance didn’t have to fake his concern considering the condition Shiro was actually in at the moment. It reached out to put its hand on the sensor that was right by the door and Lance’s heart leapt. Yes! It’d worked.

“Lifeform signs within appropriate range,” the robot said.

Wait, what?

“What? Are you kidding me?” Lance said. “That always works in movies. Stupid Galra and their stupid hyper advanced technology.”

He walked over and flopped down beside Shiro with his arms folded. “Well, I'm out of ideas.”

“Well, the Galra are supposed to have the best prison security in the universe.”

“Well you escaped them before, didn’t you?”

Shiro sighed. “Ulaz helped me. It’s impossible to do it without someone on the inside.”

Lance bit his lip and looked at the ceiling. There weren’t even any ceiling panels. It was just smooth reflective steel and that sickly purple light the Galra were so fond of. There was no way out.

They were going to die here.

“Shiro, there’s something –” Lance swallowed and paused. Should he even tell him? Shiro was injured and in pain and they were probably going to die soon. The least that he could do was not burden him with an unwanted confession.

“Yes, Lance?”

“I’ll tell you after we get home.”

And he didn’t know if it was kindness or cowardice that stilled his tongue.

“Well, I have something I’ve been meaning to tell you too.”

“Yeah?” Lance said. “It is about how I’m an amazing pilot and –”

Shiro smiled at him. “I’ll tell you when we get back to the Castle of Lions.”

“Shirooooo!” Lance covered his face with his hands and then glared at him from under them. “That’s cruel.”

Shiro burst out laughing and then winced as the movement pulled at his wounds. “Sorry.”

There was a loud boom and the whole ship shook. The lights in their cell flickered.

Lance sat up.

“What was that?”

“I think the ship is being attacked.”

“All hands to battle stations. I repeat all hands to battle stations,” the speakers boomed. The klaxons went off. “Deploying fighters in 30 ticks!”

There was another boom and the whole ship trembled.

“That can’t be Pidge, Hunk, Keith, Allura, and Coran, could it? I mean they wouldn’t risk firing if we were on the ship, would they?”

“No, they wouldn’t,” Shiro said. “This is likely another Galra who has decided to attack the ship.”

“More Galra on Galra violence,” Lance muttered. “Wonder if they know we’re here.”

“Hard to say.” Shiro’s breath puffed in his ear and Lance shivered.

The ship shook once more. This time the lights flickered in their cell and went out.

“Shiro?”

“I’m fine, Lance,” Shiro’s voice came off somewhere in the darkness.

“Maybe now,” Lance muttered. He felt along the wall and pried at the door. Predictably, it didn’t budge.

There was another boom and the ship bucked wildly. Lance had never felt the Castle of Lions or Blue rock quite like this before, what the hell kind of firepower did these people have?! He wondered how long this ship had been in service before this battle. The sound of metal buckling and groaning reached their ears.

“The hull’s been breached,” Shiro said dully.

“Breached?!” Lance said. “But the area is sealed off, isn’t it?”

“The prison level doesn’t really have compartments that seal off like the rest of the ship.”

“But that could mean –” He began pounding his fists at the door frantically. “Hey! Hey, is anyone out there? Let us out!”

Lance’s hands scrabbled for purchase as he felt around the edges, looking for any flaws that allow him to pry the door open. The floor heaved beneath him and Shiro cried out as Lance slammed into him.

“Sorry, Shiro,” Lance said.

“Not your fault.”

No, it wasn’t his fault. Lance looked up to where he thought Shiro’s face was. He swore he could feel the air getting thinner already. There was another shift of the floor beneath them and the door to their prison swung open with a crash. It bounced off the wall, revealing a faint strip of purple through the open doorway.

“Never mind, it’ll have to wait. How would you like to escape from a Galra prison cell a second time?”

“It would be my pleasure.” 

There was some rustling as Shiro got up. Lance smiled, feeling Shiro’s presence behind him.

“Follow me,” Shiro said.

“Always, team leader.”

They ran into nobody as they raced down the hall. Each side of the hallway was lit up with purple lines. It didn’t make it much easier to see, but they had at least an idea where they were going. He could hear Shiro gasping with almost every step.

“Shiro are you okay?”

“Fine. Starting to suspect I broke a rib.”

There was a dry tone in Shiro’s voice that didn’t fit the situation. Lance gulped.

“You?”

“I’m fine,” Lance answered.

They stopped as they rounded the last corner. It was a dead end. The hope that had been bubbling up in Lance’s chest sputtered and died an ignoble death.

“Well shit.”

The sound of clanking came from behind them and they turned. A lone sentry rounded the corner.

“Halt!” It said.

“This is literally a dead end,” Lance said. It wasn’t his imagination. The air was slowly getting thinner. “Where would you expect us to go?”

It raised its rifle and Shiro and Lance glanced at each other. Lance jerked his head. “I’ll go low, you play distraction.”

“Here robot, robot, robot,” Shiro said like the dork he was.

Lance suppressed a smile despite the situation. Shiro couldn’t lift his arms much, his Galra arm still a dead weight due to the device that was on it and the other one injured from the dislocation but at least he still had his sense of humour.

“Yeah here, robot,” Lance muttered and then rushed it.

He barreled into it at full speed and the ship trembled again causing the sentry to slam against the wall with far more speed than Lance’s bodyweight would have done. Nonetheless, it had the desired effect. The rifle clattered as it hit the floor. Lance recovered first, grabbed it, and then shot the sentry between the eyes without hesitation.

“Pretty cool, huh?” He threw the rifle over his shoulder and struck his sexiest pose.

“Ah, um, ye-yeah cool.”

Was Shiro a little flushed? He couldn’t see well enough in the dim light to tell for sure.

“Let’s get that off of you,” Lance said.

He guided Shiro down so he could lie on the ground. He adjusted the setting on the rifle and carefully began to cut through the cuff. The whole floor shook again, and Lance paused, waiting until the tremors stopped before resuming.

He cheered when he cut through the last of it and it fell off with a thud. There was a soft whir as Shiro tested the movement of his arm.

“Thank you, Lance.”

“Ah, you’re welcome!”

“We have to get to the Black lion,” Shiro grimaced.

“What the hey,” Lance said too brightly. “If we go down, we’ll go down fighting, right?”

“Exactly.”

Lance shot the lock off the door and kicked it open. A new klaxon began to sound as they ran.

“Cell 614 has been compromised. The prisoners have escaped.”

“Shit,” Lance muttered. He looked over at Shiro, whose face was tight with pain as he ran. “You okay, Shiro?”

“Just fine, Lance,” Shiro muttered. “Left here.”

Shiro slammed his palm against the scanner and it opened with a whir that was almost drowned out by the siren.

They slipped inside and there was Black with her shield up. She was definitely a sight for sore eyes, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shiro smile a little as he stared up at his girl. Lance resisted the urge to cheer out loud. Yes! They were free! They were gonna – 

There was a bang behind them. Lance’s leg began to burn, and his world tilted sideways as all the strength went out of it.

"Lance!"

Shiro caught him and guided him to the ground in a controlled fall. He sat up and stared blankly at the puddle of blood that was growing below him. He stuck his fingers in it. What the-

“Lance!”

“I think I’ve been shot,” Lance said. It was hard to think for some reason.

There was a lot of blood. Too much to have come from his leg. But there it was. 

“Did you think that I’d just let you escape?” Ventra said. “We won, just so you know. There’s no one coming to save you.” 

She stood by the door, confident smirk in place. Lance wanted to rip it off her face. She was holding something akin to an old-fashioned handgun. It was somewhat dwarfed by her large hands, but she held it with the ease of familiarity.

Shiro clenched his fist and his Galra hand activated and Lance began to realize just how much trouble they were in. Hah, with his busted leg and Shiro’s hurt arms, they made two halves of a whole person. His world swayed around him, and in the back of his mind, part of Lance was screaming to put pressure on the wound. He lifted his hand which was slippery with blood and squeezed the back of his leg. It slowed, but not by much. He looked up to see Shiro throwing himself at the cackling Galra commander. She threw him off and Shiro cried out as he hit the ground.

She raised her gun and pointed it straight at Shiro.

“I’m going to enjoy this, paladin.” She said even as Shiro staggered to his feet.

No… Shiro

The gun was slippery in his hands as he picked it up. It was heavier than he remembered, and he nearly dropped it, but this was important.

She grabbed Shiro by the throat and slammed him against the wall. And then kept slamming him. Lance ignored the part of him that wanted to cry out and took careful aim.

Ventra turned and caught sight of him just as he pulled the trigger. The shot rang true, and she collapsed, dead instantly from the hole between her eyes. The gun clattered to the floor as Lance staggered to his feet heedless of the blood puddling around him. Shiro sat up woozily and then leaned over and retched.

Concussion, the part of Lance that wasn’t bleeding to death noted. At least Shiro didn’t have much to throw up.

“Shiro.”

“M’fine,” Shiro said. “You need to get to the lion.”

He heaved again as Lance fell to his knees beside him.

“Too much blood,” Shiro gasped. He cried out as he hauled Lance to his feet, and together, they hobbled to Black. Lance was cold. Why hadn’t he noticed before how cold he was? Shiro was like a furnace in comparison and he leaned against him.

Black obligingly lowered her jaw for them and scooped them up, just as more Galra burst into the room. The laserfire pinged against her armour as she took off. They staggered into the cockpit. Shiro guided Lance down into the chair and pulled down a medical kit from the wall. He tore it open and immediately grabbed some gauze and began to wrap it around Lance’s leg.

“Hold it,” Shiro murmured once he’d wrapped the entire roll of gauze on. Lance put his hands on top of it, and Shiro pulled out a pressure cuff and wrapped it around Lance’s leg. Lance cried out as Shiro mercilessly tightened it as far as it would go.

“Sorry.”

Lance shook his head. What was Shiro even apologizing for? For saving his life? God, he was so cold.

Finally, Shiro pulled out the tourniquet itself. Lance vaguely recognized it from the first aid course that all cadets were required to take at the Garrison. He slipped it around Lance’s leg above the wound, and then tightened it the way one would cinch backpack straps. Lance leaned into him and indulged himself enough to put his forehead on Shiro’s chest. It hurt. It hurt almost as badly as it had to get shot in the first place.

“It’s going to be okay, Lance.” Shiro’s voice was pained too and it was only then that Lance remembered that Shiro was doing this for him with his injured shoulders as well.

And then he began to twist the little bar on the tourniquet that gave it its name. Lance cried out, tears blurring his vision. Fuck it hurt. It hurt so much. His hands scrabbled for purchase on Shiro’s arms as he sobbed.

“Almost there, Lance. You’re doing so well,” Shiro said softly. Calmly. He gave it one last twist, and locked the tourniquet into place, before wiping Lance’s tears away.

“You okay?” Shiro said.

Lance nodded.

“I’m glad,” Shiro said. He reached out and grabbed a bottle of painkillers out of the kit. He popped two pills for each of them. “Sorry, there’s no water.”

“S’fine,” Lance said even though he’d always had trouble dry swallowing pills. Not Shiro though, the black paladin tossed them back like an old pro and swallowed before sealing the kit back up and placing it on the wall.

“You’re going to have to stand up for a moment,” Shiro murmured. “I’ll need access to the pilot’s seat.”

He helped Lance stagger to his feet, and then sat down before gently guiding Lance down to sit in his lap. Though it was more like collapsing than sitting. Shiro leaned around him and took hold of the controls.

“Hang on, Lance. We’ll get you the help you need.”

Lance leaned against Shiro’s chest. He was so tired and so cold and Shiro was so much warmer than he had any right to be. In a different situation, maybe he would have been more hesitant, but as it was, he buried his face in Shiro’s neck and closed his eyes. The last thing he felt before he fully passed out was Shiro’s hand stroking his hair.

*

He woke up with the sound of muffled voices. It was cold, and he tried to shiver, but it was like he was one big paralyzed icicle.

“Ah, it’s done!” that was Corans’ voice.

He cracked his eyes open a split second before the door unsealed with a hermetic hiss and he stumbled forward. He fell against someone’s chest.

“Easy, Lance, I got you,” Shiro said.

“Yeah, you do,” Lance said dreamily as Shiro released him. And then he cursed himself. Stupid, impulsive mouth!

“Lance!” He was suddenly swept into a hug by Hunk that quickly became a group hug.

“We’re glad you’re back!” Pidge said.

“Glad to have you back!” Keith said with a small smile. “It’s been a while.” 

“Surely I haven’t been in there that long,” Lance said with a glance back at the med pod.

“Dude you were in there for, like, four days,” Hunk said. “When Shiro brought you back here you were almost dead and so, so pale. You’ve got to stop doing that to me, man!”

“S-sorry.”

“We’re really glad to have you back,” Pidge said. “Shiro told us that you guys had a hard time.”

Lance held back a snort. “That’s an understatement.”

“Alright everybody, give him some room,” Coran said. “Lance, how are you feeling?”

“Honestly? Worn down,” Lance said.

“Well, we have plenty of food set out in the kitchen,” Allura said. “And it’s about time for dinner anyway. I’m sure that a full stomach would help.”

“Yeah food sounds pretty good right about now,” Lance said.

“Yeah, I kinda got carried away while you were in the healing pod,” Hunk said sheepishly when they entered the kitchen.

Before Lance, the table was full to the bursting with alien wraps and holy shit, were those tacos!? Lance shook his head. Hunk never ceased to amaze him with his culinary prowess.

“I’m sure we’ll end up eating it,” Lance zeroed in on a plate off to the side. The pastries on it were red and grey, but he would have recognized the shape anywhere. “Are those garlic knots?”

“Close as I could get them,” Hunk said proudly. “It was Shiro's idea.”

Lance snapped his head around to look at Shiro who appeared to be in deep conversation with Keith. His ears were bright red which made Lance’s cheeks heat up in return.

So he’d heard Hunk’s comment. Well, the best thing that he could do was thank him. And also ask how Shiro was feeling since he’d been pretty badly injured himself. Keith smiled at Shiro, and made an ‘I’m watching you’ motion with his hands at Lance which was strange to say the least.

“What’s that about?” Lance asked. “Keith looks like he’s going to kill me.”

“Nothing,” Shiro said. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better now that I’m not bleeding to death,” Lance replied. “Are you okay, Shiro? You were hurt pretty badly too.”

“It wasn’t anything that the healing pod couldn’t fix,” Shiro said. “I got out yesterday, good as new.”

“No concussion anymore?”

“No,” Shiro smiled at him.

“I’m glad,” Lance said. “I understand that I have you to thank for these garlic knots?”

Lance batted his eyes at him and to his delight, Shiro blushed.

*

Exhausted, Lance headed straight to bed after dinner. The door opened with a hiss and he stripped out of the tight healing pod jump suit with a groan of relief. He flopped face first into the bed in just his boxers and let his eyes fall shut.

He woke up some hours later covered in sweat and breathing heavily. Shiro’s cries of pain echoed in his ears in tandem with Ventra’s laughter. He drew his knees to his chest and took deep breaths to help calm his hammering heart.

“It wasn’t real,” he whispered. His tightened his grip on his knees. “It wasn’t real.”

Gradually, his heart slowed down to its regular pace, but the panicky feeling wasn’t subsiding. Lance sighed. If he went back to sleep now, he was almost guaranteed to fall back into another nightmare. He looked over at his training gear and then thought better of it. Better that he at least try to get some proper rest instead of beating his feelings out on the training bot. He wasn’t Keith after all.

He flopped onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. The buzzing in his limbs refused to go away and he was just so _tired._

“Screw this,” he muttered.

He gathered up his pillow and slung his blanket over his shoulders like a cape. He marched out of his room and into the dimly lit hallway. It must have been even later than he thought, as all the hallway was cast in the darkest part of the night cycle.

He covered a yawn with his hand as he made his way down the hall. Thankfully Shiro wasn’t too far away. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind. With every step though, his trepidation grew alongside the fluttering panic in his chest.

He stopped in front of Shiro’s door and reached out to press the buzzer but he paused with his finger mere centimetres away from the button. What if he was wrong? What if Shiro got mad that he woke him up and turned him away? Lance took a deep breath. Okay on the count of three he was going to knock. Shiro was going to be there and would let him stay. No, he would be happy that Lance came to him.

One… Two… Thr-

The door slid open without his permission. “Ah!”

“Lance?” And there was Shiro standing there, whole and hale despite what Lance’s mind had been telling him. He had a bemused look on his face which wasn’t the outright rejection that Lance was expecting.

“Ah-uhm.”

“Are you okay?”

“I had a bad dream,” Lance said. “I – I was wondering –”

He fell silent and glared at the floor so he couldn’t see the look in Shiro’s eyes. Stupid words failing him like that.

“If you could sleep here?”

Lance nodded.

“Sure.”

“Really?”

“Of course,” Shiro said. His cheeks were flushed pink. “I was about to go train so the bed would be free. If you feel safer sleeping here, you’re more than welcome.”

To his credit, Lance resisted the urge to scream in frustration.

“I, uh, I meant with you,” His voice trailed off at the end of the sentence. Why hadn’t he just gone to Hunk? His friend would have put up with him no questions asked. “I don’t want to sleep alone right now.”

“O-Oh,” Shiro said. “I guess you’d better come in then.”

He stepped aside to allow Lance in. Lance took a deep breath as he stepped inside and immediately regretted his choice. He was in _Shiro’s _room. How was he going to sleep knowing that he was in Shiro’s room? But the memory of his recent nightmare held him fast. He could still feel its cobwebs lurking around the shadows of his mind and Shiro had offered to help. When he met Shiro’s eyes, the man offered him a soft smile. 

Lance took a moment to glance around the room. There were a few of the usual assorted knickknacks that Shiro, like everyone else, had accumulated during their time in space. A tapestry hung on the wall across from Shiro’s bed that had either already been in the room when he’d gotten it, or that Shiro had pilfered from somewhere else in the castle. The bed was so neatly made, it looked like you could bounce a coin off the covers, and they wouldn’t crease. That and the shadows under Shiro’s eyes told Lance that he hadn’t been sleeping well if him being fully armoured at 3:30 in the freaking morning hadn’t already told him that.

He sat gingerly on the edge of the bed and then looked up at Shiro with the most flirtatious look that he could give him.

“Well, are you going to join me?”

“In a second,” Shiro said. “Just let me get this armour off first.”

“Here,” Lance said. “Turn around. The clasps at the back are a pain to get and I’m here aren’t I?”

That and it would help soothe him to feel that Shiro was solid and alive under his fingers. Shiro looked at him for a moment and Lance gave him his best smile. He slowly turned around. He slipped his hands up the back of the chest plate and quickly pressed the releases. Shiro shivered under his touch. He hadn’t imagined that, had he?

“Thank you, Lance.”

“No problem,” Lance said. “What side do you prefer?”

“Up against the wall,” Shiro said.

He set the last piece of armour aside and then stepped up to the bed. ‘

“In your flightsuit?” Lance said.

To his credit, Shiro looked a little sheepish. “I was still planning on training, after you fell asleep again.”

“Generally sleeping with someone, besides the sexy way, does mean that we actually sleep together,” Lance said dryly. “There should be pajamas in the closet if - ”

Shiro shook his head. “I usually sleep in my boxers.”

“O-oh.”

“If that makes you uncomfortable then I can –”

“No, whatever – whatever you’re most comfortable with.”

Shiro stripped out of the suit quickly. Despite Lance’s earlier statement, he snagged a tank top out of his drawer and put it on.

He climbed into bed, and when Lance hesitated, he raised an eyebrow. “Ready?”

Lance opened his mouth and shut it. He took a deep breath and then let it out through his nose. He had really not thought this through. It was okay. They were just two dudes being guys platonically sharing a bed together.

“Lance?” Shiro asked.

“Did I say any of what I was thinking out loud?” Lance squeaked.

“No, you just kind of stared at me for a while,” Shiro said. “Is everything okay?”

“Okay? Everything’s fine,” Lance said. “I just – ”

“Lance, you know I’m always here to talk if you need to,” Shiro said. “Is this about your nightmare?”

“Not really,” Lance mumbled.

He sat on the edge of the bed with a sigh and Shiro slipped back out from underneath the covers to sit beside him. Lance swore that he could feel Shiro’s warmth from where he was sitting. He glanced at Shiro and their eyes locked for a moment before Lance turned away and he knew at that moment that if he didn’t confess, he might never gather the courage to again.

“It’s just… Shiro, you’re amazing,” Lance said quietly. “You’re a great team leader and a great friend. You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met and one of the kindest men I know.”

He dared to look over at how Shiro had received this. Shiro was blushing, and there was something fragile and wondering about the expression on his face.

“You’re even cute when you blush!” Lance blurted and then took a deep breath. This was it. He immediately took another deep breath just to give himself a moment and stared down at his hands. “I like you. A lot. Like more than I’ve liked anyone and I’m wondering if you would – if you would go out with me?”

There it was out in the open. Lance closed his eyes. He didn’t want to see the expression on Shiro’s face. He was sure that whatever one it was, it wasn’t an approving one.

“Lance.” Shiro reached over and gently took Lance’s hand in his and squeezed. “I would very much like that.”

“You… you would?”

“More than anything. When we were still imprisoned, I mentioned that I had something to tell you.” Shiro stroked the back of Lance’s hand with his thumb. “I was going to tell you was that I like you. A lot. You’re an amazing sharpshooter. You can get along with almost anyone and as we’ve worked on this mission together, you’ve worked harder and harder to make sure that you bring your best self to the table as much as you can. You’re beautiful, Lance, and I really like you too.”

“Shiro, can I kiss you?”

In answer, Shiro let go of Lance’s hand and brushed his hand against his jaw before leaning in. Lance met him halfway and Shiro’s lips were even softer than he imagined. They parted and Lance couldn’t help himself and leaned in again. Shiro laughed quietly, his breath washing over Lance’s face. They kissed again and this time when they parted, Lance leaned against Shiro’s side. He took up Shiro’s hand again because he could with a quiet sigh.

“Bedtime?” Shiro asked after a few minutes.

“Yeah,” Lance yawned through his reply. “Can I still stay?”

“Of course.”

They slipped under the covers together and Lance cuddled right up to him. Shiro’s warmth slowly soaked through his cold body and Shiro wrapped his arms around him.

“This okay?”

Lance nodded and buried his face in Shiro’s chest because it was right there, and he supposed he could now. He wrapped an arm around Shiro’s waist and threw a leg over his hip for good measure. Shiro sighed and settled against him and Lance in turn felt a whole lot more secure than he had back in his own bunk.

He felt fingers run through his hair and if he was a cat, he would’ve purred. As it was, he just let out a noise and took Shiro’s gesture as an invitation to bury even closer

“Night Lance,” Shiro’s breath tickled at his ear.

“Hmm… night Shiro,” Lance sighed against him.

There was a soft pressure of lips on the crown of his head which made his heart flutter and blushing, he pressed a barely there kiss against Shiro’s chest in return.

He closed his eyes and sighed. It was beyond good to be back.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time in a very long time that I have posted something more than a few thousand words. Please give me a head's up if you see any glaring continuity errors so they can be fixed :)
> 
> Art by the fantastic [Stellar (You can't Lotor Me)](https://twitter.com/StellarsArt)


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